AFM Ch 5 Part 1

After hearing the man’s familiar voice, Jing Mian sat up and stared at the number on the screen, feeling sober in an instant.

So, Ren Xingwan was outside?

How could that be?

After realizing this fact, Jing Mian stood up and felt a little weak in his legs. The top-heavy feeling and limp limbs did not dissipate just because the owner’s consciousness was forced to sober up.

“Ah Mianmian, are you awake?”

Not far away, teammates who were still drinking noticed the newcomer who woke up. They couldn’t help but give a thumbs up and praised: “Don’t look at the newcomer, he can drink better than us.”

Jing Mian turned around and found that even Xuan Cheng was asleep, with marks on his cheeks.

“…” The young man secretly marveled at what a terrible amount of alcohol he had, and he even drank down his captain.

“Mianmian, are you leaving?” One of the more experienced team members stood up, no longer joking, and asked Jing Mian worriedly, “Or are you going to sleep at the club? There are beds and a lounge there, it’s warm and safe. How are you going to get home alone so late?”

Jing Mian shook his head and said, “I have a car, don’t worry.”

The person asked again, “Are you sure it’s okay? Is someone picking you up?”

“Yes.”

Jing Mian replied in a low voice. He picked up his clothes, raised his sleeves, and put them on. He subconsciously put on a mask, then stood up and left the restaurant.

Outside the restaurant.

The sky was dark and long, covering the entire shimmering and bustling neighborhood. Although it was already dark, there was still an endless stream of pedestrians coming and going.

Jing Mian stopped and looked left and right.

He found that Ren Xingwan had not appeared, nor had he seen the car he had seen the man in that day.

Jing Mian fell into self-doubt.

Was the phone call just now his imagination?

No, he hadn’t drunk to that extent yet, or did he just give the wrong address, and Ren Xingwan went somewhere else?

Jing Mian took two steps forward, then stopped, completely confused.

He took a deep breath and stood there in a daze for a few minutes.

Then turned and left.

“…”

Don’t bother Ren Xingwan, Jing Mian thought silently. They didn’t have any relationship anyway, so he should just go back to school by himself.

However, he should still call Ren Xingwan first to prevent him from waiting endlessly in the wrong place.

And then, he would thank him.

Jing Mian picked up the phone and dialed Ren Xingwan’s number.

However, as soon as the intermittent sound of ‘beep-beep-‘ came to his ears, Jing Mian was suddenly held by a broad hand on his elbow.

The next second, Jing Mian was pulled away by that immense force.

His feet barely touched the ground.

His field of vision changed dramatically, and in the blink of an eye, Jing Mian’s back was pressed against a broad chest, with nowhere to retreat.

“…!”

Even if he was not fully awake, Jing Mian could tell that this was a deep corner of the street with a narrow gap that could only accommodate two people.

Being suddenly brought to such a hidden and dangerous place, Jing Mian’s breathing almost stopped. The other person seemed to be wearing a hat and a mask, deliberately hiding his identity, and his face could not be seen clearly.

Jing Mian felt a chill in his heart, and just as he was about to break free, a familiar voice suddenly came from his ear:

“It’s me.”

Jing Mian’s hat seemed to be grabbed from behind, and the skin on the back of his neck tightened slightly.

The man’s two fingers pulled down Jing Mian’s mask from behind, the slightly cool fingertips brushing against his skin, revealing Jing Mian’s somewhat surprised face, which was slightly moistened by the mist of breathing.

The man also looked surprised, and the two looked at each other for a few seconds.

Ren Xingwan spoke, his voice became hoarse:

“Jing Mian, don’t you recognize me again?”

Jing Mian was startled.

His heart suddenly pounded.

“…”

Being this close, perhaps Ren Xingwan could also hear.

Before this moment, Jing Mian never thought they would have any interaction in the future.

After all, when they first met, his behavior and reaction were not the type that a man would be attracted to. On the contrary, this childhood sweetheart relationship became extremely pure.

He never expected to meet Ren Xingwan again in this way on such a night after not seeing each other for four days.

…Yet, he still didn’t recognize him.

Could there be anything more embarrassing than this?

No.

Ren Xingwan was even calling his name directly out of frustration.

But Jing Mian felt that this time he was excusable.

Back when he was still a student, he had always felt that celebrities were unreachable. Jing Mian had seen them on TV, in movie theaters, on the internet, at events in school… 

But even so, he still felt that they were distant from his own life.

And his childhood brother had become one of them.

He needed some time to adapt to this fact.

So, upon careful consideration, Jing Mian realized that someone with Ren Xingwan’s status surely couldn’t show his face like an ordinary person. Hats, masks—anything that could conceal his appearance—had to be worn every time he went out. Perhaps this kind of disguise was a common part of Ren Xingwan’s life.

And tonight, it was the first time he had seen this side of him.

So, surprise and heart palpitations… were inevitable.

Jing Mian swallowed nervously, unable to help but recall the past when he didn’t recognize him at their first meeting. He averted his gaze, pretending that he had just mistaken the man’s identity, and said:

“I recognize you.”

Even as he said it, Jing Mian felt a bit fake, and Jing Mian was a little embarrassed. After all, he had really tried to break away in front of Ren Xingwan just now.

Just, after waiting for a while,

The other party didn’t seem to have any intention of exposing himself.

Jing Mian’s mask was pulled off as if the last layer of protection had been lifted off, and his unguarded fair skin was exposed, defenseless, and ripe for the taking.

The breath on his lips moved slightly, mingling with the slightly cold air, becoming unusually slow and leisurely.

But Ren Xingwan lowered his eyes and moved his eyebrows slightly as if he smelled something.

“Have you been drinking?”

Jing Mian’s eyelashes trembled.

He was found out too quickly.

With an imperceptible arc invisible to the naked eye, Jing Mian nodded slightly.

“Did someone force you to drink?”

The voice sounded cold and indifferent, successfully awakening the radar of the young man’s emotional perception.

Feeling that Ren Xingwan had misunderstood, Jing Mian quickly shook his head and denied, “I only had one drink.”

After a few seconds of silence.

Jing Mian seemed to hear the man behind him chuckle softly.

Originally, the sound was inaudible, but at this moment, Jing Mian’s senses were more sensitive than usual. After all, the surroundings were too quiet.

They seemed to be isolated in another small world, just the two of them.

Jing Mian pursed his lips as if he had already heard the unspoken subtext from Ren Xingwan—

Sure enough, he’s just a kid.

He lowered his gaze slightly, looking somewhat displeased.

When Jing Mian was drunk, he will be more honest or frank than usual. Even he probably doesn’t know this.

He wanted to say that he wasn’t a lightweight, purely because the alcohol content was slightly higher than usual.

But once he opened his mouth, there was always a sense of hypocrisy.

Jing Mian felt his ears getting hotter by the moment. He paused for a moment, raised his head, and asked softly, “…Can we go home now?”

Ren Xingwan’s eyes fell on Jing Mian.

Jing Mian’s eyelashes were very long. From this angle, the moonlight happened to penetrate this narrow corner of the alley, illuminating his gently drooping eyes.

“…No.”

The man remained silent for two seconds before saying softly,

“We have somewhere else to go.”

When Jing Mian got into the passenger seat, he was still confused.

Alcohol had occupied a part of his brain, battling with the remaining traces of consciousness, but soon, the man fastened his seatbelt for him.

This time, it wasn’t the same car Jing Mian rode in with Ren Xingwan when they first met. Jing Mian vaguely understood a bit about it; for instance, celebrities often used commercial vans for their schedules, which had more spacious interiors.

So, the car he was in now belonged to Ren Xingwan himself.

Although it was unfamiliar, Jing Mian could faintly smell the scent of the man next to him, light and fragrant, strangely familiar, like when they first met.

There was an exceptional sense of security in this enclosed car.

Jing Mian took a gentle breath.

Feeling like the alcohol was gradually taking over, even his hazy consciousness was becoming somewhat heavy and fluctuating.

The car started to move slowly, and Jing Mian gripped the seatbelt in his palm, focusing on the scenery outside the window, which began to pass by in an orderly and backward.

After watching for a while, Jing Mian couldn’t help but glance sideways at Ren Xingwan, who was driving.

The man’s fingers on the steering wheel were long and slender, and they seemed to be paler than Jing Mian imagined. The knuckles were clearly defined, and the muscles on the back of the hand were just right. They were beautiful but powerful at the same time.

He obviously didn’t use any force, but he seemed to be in control of everything.

It was just the index and middle fingers that he had just taken off his mask and brought them together that made Jing Mian at a loss and panicked for a moment.

Jing Mian withdrew his gaze.

As he closed his eyes, he made an effort to clear those scenes from his memory.

However, he didn’t know how long the car had been driving, but Jing Mian vaguely felt that Ren Xingwan seemed to have turned the steering wheel and made a slight sound.

The movement of the steering wheel was not large, and Jing Mian noticed that it did not seem to be turning… but more like pulling over to the side.

Sure enough, the speed of the car slowed down.

They stopped against the curb.

The man’s tone had no ups and downs, and he just left one sentence:

“Wait me a moment.”

Jing Mian: “?”